Anguilla is the quiet, low-slung, upmarket corner of the north-eastern Caribbean, a flat coral island of scrub and dazzling white sand that has never built a high-rise or chased the crowds, and is famous for one thing above all others: its beaches, regularly rated among the finest in the Caribbean and the world. It flies the Union flag, speaks English and drives on the left, a British Overseas Territory that sits just north of busy St Maarten yet feels a world away from it. Shoal Bay East, Meads Bay, Rendezvous Bay and the tiny offshore islet of Sandy Island are the names people come for, along with a beach-bar and restaurant scene out of all proportion to the island’s size.
There is one thing to understand before the day begins: Anguilla is barely a cruise port at all. There is no berth for large ships, and the small and luxury vessels that do call anchor off the coast and tender passengers ashore to the beach at Sandy Ground. Most passengers who set foot on Anguilla arrive a different way, as a day trip by public ferry from a St Maarten call, crossing from Marigot to Blowing Point in about 25 minutes. Either way, this is a beach day above all, not a town or a shopping stop, and the island rewards those who treat it as one.
This guide covers an Anguilla day: the tender onto Sandy Ground beach, the taxi ride out to Shoal Bay East and the other great beaches, the boat trip to Sandy Island, the beach bars and seafood the island is known for, and the practical detail of its currency, its taxis, the St Maarten ferry and how to make the most of a small, quiet, beach-first island.
Port Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Port Type | Tender or anchor port with a very small cruise presence. There is no cruise berth for large ships: the small and luxury ships that call anchor off the north-west coast and tender passengers ashore to the Road Bay landing at Sandy Ground, while some smaller vessels use the Blowing Point ferry pier on the south coast. Many passengers reach Anguilla instead as a day trip by ferry from a St Maarten call. Not a docked big-ship port. |
| Distance to Town | The tender lands you on the beach at Sandy Ground, so the sand and the beach bars of Road Bay are right there; the island's other beaches lie a short drive away and need a taxi. |
| Currency | The East Caribbean dollar (XCD), fixed at EC$2.70 to the US dollar. US dollars are widely accepted across the island, and change may come back in EC dollars, which are of little use once you leave, so keep your US notes small. English is the official language and Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory. |
| Language | English |
| Best Known For | A quiet, upmarket British island north of St Maarten, famous above all for beaches rated among the best in the Caribbean and the world: Shoal Bay East, Meads Bay, Rendezvous Bay and the little islet of Sandy Island. |
- Road Bay landing , The tender landing and beach bars at Sandy Ground village
- Shoal Bay East , The north-east beach rated among the best in the world
- Sandy Island , A tiny islet off Sandy Ground, reached by a short boat shuttle
- Meads Bay , A mile-long west-coast beach with a cluster of restaurants
- Rendezvous Bay , A long quiet south-coast beach facing St Martin
- Blowing Point ferry , The south-coast ferry terminal for the St Maarten crossing
- The Valley , Anguilla's small capital, inland at the centre of the island
Road Bay tender landing, Sandy Ground, Anguilla · View larger map
Getting From the Port to Town
Walking: The Best Option
Free (once tendered ashore)- Walk time: On the beach at the landing
- The tender lands you straight onto Sandy Ground beach at Road Bay, so the sand, the palms and the island's best-known beach bars and restaurants are on the doorstep, and you can spend a whole call here without a taxi. This is the easy, no-cost option: a swim, a drink and a plate of grilled seafood a few steps from where the tender ties up. The famous beaches on the other coasts, and the boat out to Sandy Island, lie beyond walking distance and need a taxi or a short boat shuttle.
Local Bus
No tourist bus network- Anguilla has no tourist-useful public bus network, so a day here is built around taxis or a beach on foot at the landing. This is a small, quiet island where getting around means agreeing a taxi rather than catching a bus, which is worth knowing before you plan a day that hops between beaches. If you would rather not spend on transport, the beach at Sandy Ground, right at the tender landing, gives you the island's sand and beach bars for nothing.
Taxi
Fixed island rates; agree the fare first- Taxis run to fixed, government-set rates rather than a meter, quoted in US or EC dollars, and they are the main way to get around. Agree the fare before you set off. A driver will run you out to Shoal Bay East, about 15 minutes away on the north-east coast, or take a small group on a half-day island and beach tour, often quoted around US$50 though rates vary. It is the flexible way to reach the beaches beyond Sandy Ground, and worth arranging as a small group to share the cost.
Top Excursions
Traditional Sailing Adventure to Anguilla's Prickly Pear Cays
Built in 1978, for sail-trading throughout the Caribbean, Tradition has exchanged sailing cargo and contraband for cruising with charter guests and cocktails in Anguilla. This authentic and traditional sailing experience is a must do on your Anguilla itinerary. Sail in rustic luxury, while sipping M
Check AvailabilityThe Best Sunset Sail and Cocktail Hour in Anguilla
The Ultimate Sunset Sail Experience. If you've never sailed on a classic wooden vessel, our Sunset Sail on Tradition is the way to start. Sail with us (yes, we'll be raising those sails all by hand, using traditional block and tackle rigging) along Anguilla's coastline. We'll keep your Champagne Coc
Check AvailabilityLittle Bay Half-Day Sail & Snorkel Adventure
Indulge in an authentic sailing experience on a classic Caribbean "Rum Runner" of yesteryear as Tradition sails to one of Anguilla's hidden treasures, Little Bay. Home to turtles, nesting pelicans, tropic birds and magnificent cliffs, Little Bay is a stunning oasis and a “must do” on your Anguilla i
Check AvailabilityAnguilla Based:Scheduled 2-Tank Dive (Certified Divers)
Discover the vibrant underwater world of Anguilla with Scuba Shack, the island’s only 5-Star PADI IDC Dive Resort. With over three decades of experience, we offer guided dives to more than 20 reefs and over 7 intriguing shipwrecks. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced diver, we have dive site
Check AvailabilityMore Experiences in Anguilla
Anguilla Based: 2-Hr Group Snorkel at Little Bay Marine Park.
Swim over vibrant coral reefs, encounter colourful marine life, and feel the thrill of jumping off the famous rock—all under the guidance of our friendly team. Perfect for all ages, we provide all gear, swim noodles and fascinating insights into the local ecosystem. Sip on water, soda, or an ice-col
Anguilla Based: 1-Tank Group Night Dive (certification Required)
Explore a shipwreck under the cover of night on this thrilling night dive. Discover nocturnal marine life, watch bioluminescent plankton glow, and experience the wreck in a whole new light — mysterious, atmospheric, and unforgettable.
Anguilla Based: PADI Discover Scuba (Introductory Dive)
A chance to explore the underwater world awaits with the Group 1st Time Discover Scuba Diving experience. This introductory dive at Little Bay Marine Park is designed specifically for beginners, nervous divers, and kids aged 10 and older. With a maximum depth of 20ft and personalised attention from
Anguilla Based: Private 3-Hr Sightseeing & Snorkel Charter
Your journey begins with a choice: start with sightseeing or jump straight into snorkelling—the experience is tailored to your style. Sightseeing • Anguilla Arch — Breathtaking natural formation and the perfect spot for an island photo. • Pamead Wreck — This rusted, photogenic wreck, beloved for its
The best excursions in Anguilla fill up ahead of peak sailings. Compare options and book before you leave port.
Things to Do in Anguilla
An Anguilla day is, honestly, a beach day, and the island makes no apology for it. Once the tender or the ferry has landed you, the shape of the day is choosing a beach, settling in, swimming in some of the clearest water in the Caribbean, and eating well at a beach bar. The sand at Sandy Ground is right at the landing; the greater beaches are a taxi ride away on the other coasts, and a small group sharing a taxi can string two or three of them together.
For those who want a little more than a single stretch of sand, the short boat trip out to Sandy Island adds a castaway islet to the day, and the island’s celebrated restaurant scene, from barefoot grills to internationally known kitchens, is a draw in its own right. Conch and grilled seafood are the local staples. What Anguilla does not offer is a town to wander or shops to browse, so come for the sand and the sea and treat everything else as a bonus.
- Shoal Bay East. Shoal Bay East is the island’s flagship beach and the reason many people come, a long sweep of powdery white sand and calm, clear turquoise water on the north-east coast, with reef snorkelling and a scatter of easygoing beach bars. It was voted number 6 in the world for 2026 by The World’s 50 Best Beaches, the only Caribbean beach in that top 10, yet it rarely feels crowded. It is about 15 minutes by taxi from the Sandy Ground and ferry area, and makes the natural centrepiece of an Anguilla day.
- Sandy Ground and Road Bay. Sandy Ground, the beach at Road Bay where the tenders land, is a wide crescent of sand lined with the island’s best-known beach bars and restaurants, and the easiest beach of all to reach: you simply step off the tender onto it. It is the place for a swim and a drink and a plate of grilled seafood without a taxi, and its low-key, barefoot character sums up the whole island. For anyone on a short call or a tight budget, a day here alone is a fine Anguilla day.
- Sandy Island. Sandy Island is a tiny uninhabited islet off Sandy Ground, a speck of white sand and palms ringed by reef, reached only by a short boat shuttle of about 10 to 15 minutes from the Sandy Ground pier. There is a single beach bar known for its grilled seafood, and clear shallow water for snorkelling straight off the sand. It is the castaway add-on to an Anguilla day, and one of the most photographed spots on the island, well worth the short hop across.
- Meads Bay. Meads Bay, on the west coast, is a mile-long stretch of soft white sand regularly ranked among the best beaches in the Caribbean, backed by a cluster of the island’s better beach restaurants. It is about 2 miles from Road Bay, an easy taxi ride, and suits a longer, more comfortable beach afternoon with somewhere good to eat close at hand. The swimming is fine and the sunsets, for those staying late, are among the island’s best.
- Rendezvous Bay. Rendezvous Bay is a long, quiet arc of white sand on the south coast, gently shelving into calm water and looking across to the hills of St Martin. It is one of the island’s larger beaches and one of its calmest, a good choice for an unhurried swim well away from any crowd, with a few beach bars and resorts spaced along it. Reached by a short taxi ride, it pairs the beauty of the sand with an easy, uncomplicated day.
- Beach bars and the seafood. Anguilla has a reputation for eating and drinking on the beach that is out of all proportion to its size, from barefoot grills at Sandy Ground to internationally known restaurants along the west coast. Grilled crayfish and lobster, conch and fresh fish are the local staples, best enjoyed with your feet in the sand at a beach bar. For many visitors a long, slow lunch at a beach shack, drink in hand and toes in the water, is as much the point of an Anguilla day as the swimming.
There is no cruise berth for large ships at Anguilla. Only small and luxury vessels call, anchoring off the coast and tendering passengers ashore to the beach at Sandy Ground. If your ship does not call here directly, the usual way to see Anguilla is as a day trip from a St Maarten call: cross by public ferry from Marigot to Blowing Point, about 25 minutes, then clear immigration and take a taxi. It is very doable, but it is a full day-trip with two ferry crossings and immigration each way, not a beach on the doorstep, so plan the timings and keep an eye on the last ferry back.
Eating Near the Cruise Port
- Tender to Road Bay
- Beach at the landing
- EC$; USD accepted
What to eat in Anguilla
Pigeon peas and rice is the national dish and it arrives as the side to almost everything. The thing to plan around is crayfish, which here means the local spiny lobster, smaller and sweeter than the northern sort, split and grilled over coals. Johnnycakes, dense fried rounds of bread, come with it. Goat, curried or stewed, is on most local menus.
What to drink
Rum punch is the island drink, and every bar guards its own ratio, so they vary far more than the name suggests. Beer is imported rather than brewed here. Mauby, bark-based and properly bitter, is the traditional option if you aren’t drinking.
Where to find it
You come ashore onto the sand at Sandy Ground, and the bars and restaurants are strung along the beach within a couple of minutes’ walk. That’s unusual for a tender port and worth using. The grander restaurants Anguilla is known for sit on other beaches, Meads Bay and Shoal Bay among them, and those need a taxi each way.
Good for a short port call
Sandy Ground answers the whole question on a short call. You land in the middle of the food, so the only decision is which end of the beach.
Getting Around
Shoal Bay East, on the north-east coast, was voted number 6 in the world for 2026 by The World’s 50 Best Beaches, the only Caribbean beach in that year’s top 10, and it is the single reason many people come. Powdery white sand, calm clear water and reef snorkelling make it the classic Anguilla beach day. It is about 15 minutes by taxi from the Sandy Ground and ferry area and is not walkable from the landing, so agree a taxi, ideally as a small group to share the fare, and arrange a pickup time for the way back.
Essential Travel Tips
Anguilla’s currency is the East Caribbean dollar, fixed at EC$2.70 to the US dollar, but US dollars are accepted everywhere and are the practical currency for a day visitor. The catch is change: pay in US dollars and you may get EC dollars back, which are hard to spend once you leave the island and effectively cost you on the exchange. Keep your US notes small, and settle beach-bar and taxi bills in US dollars where you can. Anguilla is an upmarket island and prices reflect it.
Anguilla lies inside the Atlantic hurricane belt, with the season running from June to November. Hurricane Irma struck the island hard on 6 September 2017, the most powerful storm on record here, causing about US$320 million of damage, but Anguilla rebuilt with UK support and is fully open. The drier, calmer months from December to April are the pick for a beach day, with the best chance of the flat, clear water the island is known for.
Anguilla has no cruise berth for large ships, so calls are small, occasional and always by tender in to Road Bay. The packing list is a beach list: swimsuit, sun cover, water, and something on your feet you can walk wet sand in.
A taxi and a beach is what independent travel amounts to on Anguilla, which is not a criticism, because the beaches are why ships call at all. Agree the fare and the pick-up time with your driver before setting off: Road Bay is not somewhere a passing cab turns up at four o’clock.
The East Caribbean dollar is the currency and US dollars are taken almost everywhere, so your onboard spending stretches further if you carry small US notes for a beach bar than if you rely on a card.
Everyone comes ashore by tender, so the morning has a queue in it somewhere. A cabin with a balcony earns its keep on a day like this, because waiting outside beats waiting in a lounge.
Frequently Asked Questions
They tender, and only small and luxury ships call at all. There is no cruise berth for large vessels: the ships that visit anchor off the north-west coast and tender passengers ashore to the beach at Sandy Ground, Road Bay. Some smaller ships use the Blowing Point ferry pier on the south coast. Anguilla is barely a mainstream cruise port, so many British visitors reach it instead as a day trip by ferry from St Maarten.
By the public ferry between Marigot, on the French side of St Martin, and Blowing Point on Anguilla, which crosses in about 20 to 25 minutes and runs through the day. The one-way fare is about US$30 for adults and children 12 and over and US$20 for younger children, plus a small departure tax of about US$5 leaving St Martin, and you clear immigration at Blowing Point. Bring cash, and mind the last ferry back if you are on a St Maarten cruise call.
Shoal Bay East is the most celebrated, voted number 6 in the world for 2026 by The World’s 50 Best Beaches and the only Caribbean beach in that top 10, with powdery sand and calm clear water on the north-east coast. Meads Bay and Rendezvous Bay are close behind, and Sandy Ground, the tender-landing beach, is lovely and the easiest to reach. Honestly, the island is one great beach after another, so any of them makes a fine day.
The East Caribbean dollar, fixed at EC$2.70 to the US dollar. In practice US dollars are accepted everywhere and are the easiest currency for a day visitor. The one thing to watch is your change, which may come back in EC dollars that are hard to spend once you leave, so keep your US notes small and pay in US dollars where you can. Cards are taken at the better restaurants. Anguilla is an upmarket island, so expect prices to match.
The beach is: the tender lands you straight onto Sandy Ground beach at Road Bay, so the sand and the beach bars are right there and you need no transport at all to enjoy them. But the island’s other famous beaches lie on different coasts and are not within walking distance. There is no tourist bus network, so reaching Shoal Bay East, Meads Bay or Rendezvous Bay means a taxi at fixed island rates.
By taxi. Anguilla has no tourist-useful public bus, so getting around means taxis, which run to fixed government-set rates quoted in US or EC dollars; agree the fare before you set off. A driver will run you out to a beach such as Shoal Bay East, about 15 minutes away, or take a small group on a half-day island tour, often quoted around US$50 though rates vary. Sharing a taxi as a small group is the sensible way to keep the cost down.
The drier, calmer months from December to April are the pick, warm and bright with the best chance of the flat, clear water the island is famous for. Anguilla sits inside the Atlantic hurricane belt, and the season from June to November is wetter and carries the storm risk; Hurricane Irma struck the island hard in September 2017. It has long since rebuilt, and a winter day here is about as good as a Caribbean beach day gets.
If you love beaches, yes. Anguilla’s sand and water are a clear step up from the busy beaches of St Maarten, and the low-key, upmarket calm is a genuine contrast. Set against that is the effort: a ferry each way, immigration both times, and a taxi at the far end, all inside a cruise day. It rewards those who plan the timings, keep the day simple around one or two beaches, and watch the last ferry back.
Ready to Explore Anguilla?
Anguilla is a beach island, plainly and unashamedly, and that is exactly its appeal. It is barely a cruise port, so most British visitors will meet it as a small-ship call or a day trip from St Maarten, and either way the day comes down to choosing a stretch of world-class sand, swimming in some of the clearest water in the Caribbean, and eating well at a beach bar with your feet in it. Shoal Bay East is the one to build the day around, Sandy Ground is the effortless beach right at the landing, and Sandy Island is the castaway add-on. Come for the sand, keep the plan simple, and Anguilla delivers one of the finest beach days in the region.
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